Climbing an active volcano at 3am would not really have appealed to me. It was part of our itinerary for the Bali intro tour so as it was included I thought why not give it a go? It was quite possibly one of the most gruelling treks I've done...but was it worth it?
Mount Batur Active Volcano sunrise trek
Now I am no experienced hiker or walker. I've done a few treks, some jungle treks in Thailand and some small mountains in Wales but nothing could have prepared me for this.
The first hurdle
The 1am alarm...I'm sorry but I'm on holiday why is my alarm going off at 1am? It was very hard to motivate myself to get up and get ready to trek a volcano at 1am!
Why so early? It's a sunrise trek, so you want to be at the top for sunrise (around 6am) and it's an hours drive from Ubud. If you are confident in your trekking skills, you could start the trek around 4am and make it in time. We started at 3am, and boy did I need that extra hour!
What to wear and pack?
It's cold on top of that volcano. Very cold. I wore leggings, walking trainers and a baggy t-shirt. In my backpack I packed a bottle of water, a spare shirt and vest, some thick socks, a hoodie, headphones, some cash and my phone.
The spare shirt was needed once I got to the top, my t-shirt was dripping with sweat so when the cold wind hit I felt it immediately. A dry shirt and the hoodie were absolutely necessary and I highly recommend.
Our guides gave us a bottle of water at the start of the trek so I did have two bottles, also necessary.
To the halfway point
Trekking a volcano is going to be difficult, everyone who had done this told me it was harder than they expected but it was exactly as I expected. It's a volcano, it won't be 'easy'. Starting off from the flat road with a small head light you get quite comfortable and confident. It does get steeper but it's quite secure under foot. You will sweat, but you won't feel hot. Doing it so early means it's a nice cool temperature.
There are plenty of big open spaces where you can take a break for as long as you need. The closer you get to the halfway point the busier it will get, so other groups will start to overtake you. Don't let that pressure you, go at your own pace and put your safety and comfort first.
Halfway point to the summit
Now this is where the fun starts! Straight away it gets steeper and less steady underfoot. The rocks move more and the gravel becomes soft volcanic ash which is very, very slippy. It's also still very dark at this point.
After about 30 minutes it goes from "oh this is a bit intense" to "Jesus Christ are you having a laugh?" I had to take very regular breaks in the last 30 minutes, my legs turned to jelly and my knees physically couldn't move anymore! The rocks became bigger and the steps up become higher and slippery. My lungs were burning, my throat was sore, my shirt was soaked with sweat, my calves and knees were shaking and I told the guides I couldn't go on any more. They turned to me, grabbed a hand each and hauled my ass up the last 5 minutes to reach the summit.
I wasn't even embarrassed at this point, holding tightly to their hands, sweat dripping off my nose and glasses fogged up.
The summit
I didn't notice the view for a solid 5 minutes, the guides took me over to the rest of the group (who got there about 15 minutes before me, no shame, I'm a big girl with more weight to move around, it was gonna take me longer) and I collapsed down on the floor. Once I'd got my breath and downed some water, I took in the view. Boy oh boy was it a view.
I have never seen anything like this before. Sat above the clouds, a mountain in the foreground and the sun starting to peak it's way up.
I treated myself to a hot chocolate (30k) and sat back to watch the sunrise.
We spent nearly an hour at the top before making our way back down...
The descent
I was worried this would be a lot harder than it was. The way we went down was loose under foot for the first 10 minutes, but after that it went to a dirt track used regularly by motorbikes. After what felt like 20 minutes the guides told me we were well over halfway down! Before I knew it we'd got to the halfway point and our mini van was waiting in all it's glory.
The views on the way down are just as spectacular so take your time and soak them up! You'll never see views like this again.
Recommendations
For the trip down:
-shed as many layers as you can (that sun is HOT)
-wear suncream
-bring sunglasses or a cap
For the trip up:
-regular breaks for as long or short as you need, don't stop for too long as it's harder to get going again then. Just catch your breath, have a drink and move on
-Listen to some music, it's very distracting, but keep it quiet enough so you can hear the advice and tips from the guides
-Stay hydrated
-Keep a positive mindset
-Be prepared for crap loads of people to start pushing past you as you get close to the summit. Everyone rushes to get a good spot for the sunrise. Don't let this intimidate you and don't try to match their speed. Follow your guide and listen to them, if they tell you you have time, then take your time. It's not a race
-Take your guides hand when they offer it to you, there's no shame in needing a helping hand
Have you climbed Mount Batur? What are your best tips? Drop a comment below and follow for more here on Wix Blogs, Tik Tok @travelbeeblog and Instagram @bilbo.h
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